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Marching Home Again
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15222 |
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Section : |
BOOK WORLD
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| Issue
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8 / 1989 |
4,217 Words |
| Author
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Charles Wheeler
Charles Wheeler is assistant Commentary editor at the
Washington Times and a Vietnam veteran. |
THE WAGES OF WAR
When America's Soldiers Came Home--
From Valley Forge to Vietnam
Richard Severo and Lewis Milford
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989
437 pp., $21.95
It is generally acknowledged that Vietnam veterans received shameful treatment upon returning to these shores. Ambivalence if not outright hostility was the norm, a far cry from the delirious reception awaiting World War II veterans who fought this nation's last "good war."
In the two hundred years from the American Revolution to Vietnam, this nation's sons have fought ten wars, including the fratricidal conflict over slavery. Richard Severo and Lewis Milford make the case that the civilian cold shoulder after Vietnam was the rule for all of America's wars, World War II being the exception.
A large part of this book focuses on Vietnam and, specifically, on the controversy surrounding Agent Orange. The authors acknowledge that the impetus for this book was a determination to unveil their "special knowledge about the shameful role of the government" in the Agent Orange matter. But more about that later.
A fledgling nation
The book's most engaging chapters describe the period just after the American Revolution when a fledgling nation struggled to come to terms
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